I solve throat and voice problems from the viewpoint of a kineticist.

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Daily Archives: August 17, 2014

I will now review how the voice relates to specific kinds of drinks, in a series.
This is part 6: “Tea”.
Other than soda I think a lot of people prefer to drink tea. Its varied forms and tastes have been around for ages. I’ve surveyed many people by asking,”Have you ever had any problems when you drink tea before singing?” The responses were: “No problem, I never mind, I always get a dry throat if I drink tea, I often feel weird in my mouth and have some problems singing.” So, there were many different opinions.
Tea is a very popular drink, like coffee, all over the world. There are so many varieties such as green tea, black tea, lemon tea, peach tea, raspberry tea, chamomile, and oolong tea, etc. But, the fact of the matter is, all kinds of tea are made by the same tea plant and making different flavors just depends on the process used.
The most famous component of tea is tannin and wine also has this.
The tannin makes a bitter taste and the catechin is part of tannin, like polyphenol.
The catechin combines with the proteins on the tongue, the oral or the pharyngeal mucosa and causes ‘Astringent.’
The Astringent is that which tends to shrink or constrict body tissues by the proteins. People can feel the bitter taste of the astringent, as it is very distinctive.
Therefore, I think the bitter taste may be more of a pain rather than the taste.
It’s known that the tannin tends to suppress secretion from the mucosa.
The vocal cord cannot vibrate properly if it’s not wet. Therefore, the vocal cord must be moist with secretions.
If the secretions gets less in the oral cavity or the pharynx, the vocal cord gets dry and affects the voice negatively.
That’s why, when people say, “I always get a dry throat if I drink a tea,” it is true.
Furthermore, it gets harder to make the vibrato and easier to get a hoarse voice due to the dryness.
Of course, this fact does not apply to everyone. So, if you do not mind, please enjoy a tea.
Many teas even possess components which can relax people and have positive effects on their singing.

Note: Please be aware of the three things if you drink a tea before or during singing:(1) Choose mild tea
(2)Avoid drinking tea that is too hot, because the speed will intensify the drying of the throat
(3)Drink tea with water(natural water at the room temperature)